Is laughter the key to health you’ve been missing so far?

Turns out, you don’t even need to be laughing for real. Fake laughter can help reduce stress and improve immunity just as well Whether you’re chuckling at a funny meme, in splits over an inside joke or just hit with a fit of giggles—laughing, in all its forms, is a massive boost to general health. Considered the best medicine, laughter is said to improve immunity, reduce stress and heal the body. “Laughter is a non behaviour that we inherited from the great apes. It has been conserved across species and within our own human history for a very important reason,” says Sujata Kelkar Shetty, biological scientist and author of 99 Not Out. “Laughing lifts our spirits, connects us with people and heals us in the process,” she explains. The facial muscles you use when you laugh, cry or frown are hardwired to the brain’s emotion centres. When you laugh, the happy centres of the brain light up, triggering the release of endorphins that reduce the severity of pain. “Endorphins kick in when we laugh, and we can feel the lift in mood almost immediately. We don’t really need convincing; we intuitively know the healing effects of laughter. The endorphins are the body’s natural pain killers,” says Shetty. In fact, according to many studies, those who laughed at a funny video or a joke had significantly higher pain threshold than those who didn’t. “Research shows us that laughter boosts our immune system’s ability to fight infection, improves memory in older adults and works as well as exercise in the treatment of depression,” she says. Dopamine production promotes the action of the NK cells (Natural Killer cells), which are the body’s main defence to disease. Positive thoughts actually release neuropeptides that can improve overall immunity. While endorphins are upping your pain […]

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